Brothers
by possiblycrazee
Summary: AUkinda. 'Lost Son' never happened. Ryan learns that blood is thicker than water...
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI:Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Bucket. I don't own CSI:Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

Brothers watched out for each other. It was an unwritten rule. Especially twins. And Ryan and Caleb were no exception.

"What the...?"

Ryan Wolfe stared at the DNA results in his hand. This was impossible. The DNA from the vic came back to a dead man. How the hell does a dead man rape and kill a 14-year-old girl?

"Uh... Valera, are you sure this is...?

"Yes, Ryan, I am sure. I saw it too. So, I ran it again. And again. And again. And again. Five times, Ryan. And every one came back with that."

"Goddamn it! Sorry Valera, I'm not mad at you, I just..."

"I know, now get out of here before H comes along and..."

"Before I come along and what...?"

The DNA tech and the newest CSI, turned to face their superviser, both looking like kids who'd been caught raiding the cookie jar. Ryan winced, threw Valera a quick smile, gathered up his papers and walked back down to the Trace Lab.

"Speed?" 

"Mm-hmm?" His fellow dark-haired, dark eyed Trace expert mumbled, eyes intent on his work.

"You need to look, man," Ryan said pulling the DNA results from the folder he was carrying. He handed the results over to his friend. 

"What the...?"

"That's what I said."

"Is Valera..."

"Yep." 

"Did she..."

"Five times."

Speed sighed, running a hand through his dark curls. Dead man's DNA. Great. Wonderful. Peachy. Ah, hell, this was gonna be a long day.

"How do you do that, Ryan?" Eric Delko called to the Trace Analysts, leaning against the doorframe, watching the exchange.

"Do what?" Ryan said, doing his best to look innocent. He knew exactly what Delko was talking about.

"You know, answer Speed's questions before he's even asked them." 

"Well, I've been doing this job for a couple of years now, and I always work with Speed, so it's logical that I'd know what questions he'd ask when I give him DNA results like these," Ryan bluffed, hoping the Cuban-Russian CSI would just let it go.

No such luck.

"No way, man, I've been doing this job for nearly seven years now and I still can't ddo that. Horatio, Alexx, Speed and Calleigh have all been doing this job longer than you too, and they can't do it." 

"I guess I'm just talented then," Ryan said, throwing Eric a disarming grin and turning back to Speed.

Ryan winced. Now Speed was looking at him suspiciously too. Eric came into the Trace Lab to stand beside him. They both narrowed their eyes at him. Then Eric's eyes widened in shock.

"Mary, Mother of God," breathed Eric, "You're a reader." 

"What! No way!"

"Speed, think about it man! All you had to say to him was 'Did she...' and he knew that you wanted to know if she checked the results. You could have been saying 'Did she run the other samples?' for all he knew." 

"Holy shit."

"Yeah." 

Ryan scowled and tried to edge past the two CSI's. When they moved to block his way, he turned and tried to walk out through the other lab, only to come face to face with his boss.

"Wolfe. My office. Now."

'Idiot, idiot, idiot', he mentally cursed himself, running through all the expletives he knew in his head.

Sleeping soundly, Caleb Wolfe, didn't hear about his brother's predicament, until Ryan let out a mental string of the foulest curse words, Caleb had ever heard him use.

Caleb stretched, wincing as the joints in his back cracked and popped. He gave a low whistle, reaching out a hand as he did so til he felt the soft fur of his Labrador, Rabbit. He smiled as Rabbit dropped to his haunches and rolled onto his back in a silent plea to get Caleb to rub his belly. Caleb ran a hand over his Braille watch, feeling for the time. 6:14 am. He made a face. Even when you couldn't see the sunrise, this was an inhumane time to be woken up. But, his brother needed him, so he would help.

Ryan felt the familiar fuzziness in his head, grimaced slightly as everything went double for a few seconds, then smiled, whispering "Thank you" as he followed Horatio down the hallway. 

5,000 miles away, on a military base in Uruguay, Caleb sat back, petting Rabbit as he did so, watching the world through his brother's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI:Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Bucket. I don't own CSI:Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

The twins were both readers, able to hear the unabridged thoughts of others, able to sense strong emotion and able to feel lies as though they were tangible objects. A dying breed in a dying world. Ever since the 'Reader Register', the laws requiring all readers to register with the government, came into play, the twins were also hunted.

The twins were almost identical, 26 years old and very handsome. They both had dark, shaggy hair and were both slender, yet toned. Their skin was a tanned, almost olive, colour. Their only physical difference was their eyes.

Caleb, the eldest by 6 minutes, was proud of what he was. He was a reader, he didn't care who knew it. He had the same dark, shaggy hair as his brother, but his eyes were a dark grey, the colour of stormclouds. He was also born blind, his only vision of the outside world coming from the times his brother let him inside his head to view the world through his eyes.

Ryan, however, was slightly more apprehensive about his abilities. More cynical than his twin, he was the one who saw all the news headlines and TV stories about reader bashings. He liked having his abilities, they helped him help others, he just didn't like the constant worry that came with them. It was why he'd sent Caleb down to Bucket in Uruguay.

Charlie 'Bucket' Murphy was a Captain in the USMC. He wasn't a reader, not by a long shot, nicknamed 'Captain Oblivious' by the twins when they were young. But Bucket had been there for the twins when no-one else was, not even their own mother. He loved them like they were his own. He'd been a bit shocked to find out the boys were both readers, but they were his boys, no-one and nothing was gonna change that.

Caleb had moved up to Uruguay with Bucket when he was 17 years old. When he was 16 he had been forced to listen in helpless horror as his brother was beaten to a bloody pulp, purely and simply because he, Caleb, had told the wrong people what he was. The twins had never understood their situation more than in that moment. Society would not allow them to publicly be what they were. Hiding was their only option. 

"Caleb?" Bucket called, opening his front door and frowning when the blind man didn't respond.

"Caleb?" He called again, ducking his head into the lounge room.

He smiled when he saw the young man on the couch, absently petting Rabbit, lift a hand in recognition.

"Ryan says hi and your dinner's in the oven," Caleb said by way of greeting.

"Hi Ryan, hi dinner," Bucket responded, walking through to the kitchen.

Back in Miami, Ryan bit back a smile as he listened to Caleb and Bucket's banter.

Caleb watched with fascination as Ryan obliglingly turned his head from side to side so Caleb could view the lab in its entirety while Ryan walked down the hallway after his boss.

Following Horatio into his office, Ryan hovered uncertainly, unsure as to whether he was in trouble or not. With Horatio Caine, you just never knew. Horatio smiled at him and gestured for him to take a seat. Ryan sat, his nervousness growing and growing.

'Calm down, Ry, he just wants to talk,' Caleb sent through their link. 

'Cay, he scares me. You haven't seen him with a suspect,' Ryan sent back. 

Ryan felt Caleb roll his eyes at him, and mentally stuck his tongue out at his twin.

"So, Ryan, care to explain that conversation you were just having with Delko and Speed?" Horatio's calm voice cut through the twins silent conversation.

"Ummm..." 

"Ryan..." 

'Yeah, Ryan, explain,' Ryan could feel Caleb's smirk all the way from Uruguay.

'Not helping, Caleb,' Ryan sent his twin a mental scowl.

"OK. You see, H, Delko was right. I'm a reader. So is my brother." 

"You have a brother?" the surprise on Horatio's face was almost comical.

"Yes, sir. Caleb. We're twins. I sent him to a family friend in Uruguay, so he wouldn't get hurt. He's blind, Horatio, I didn't want him to go through the same reader bashings and reader hatred that I did." 

'Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Are you insane!' Ryan winced visibly, doubling over as he felt Caleb's panic threaten to overwhelm him. 

"Wolfe? Ryan? Are you OK?" Horatio's concerned voice sounded very far away.

"I'll be fine, just hang on a second," his own voice sounded very strange to his ears.

'Cay, buddy, please, please, calm down!' Ryan sent to his brother.

Back in Uruguay, Caleb fought to control the panic that was threatening to overwhelm them both. He slowed his breathing down, running his fingers through Rabbit's thick fur, his dog never failed to keep him calm. Slowly he managed to regain control, telling himself that Ryan wouldn't have told his boss if he didn't trust him with his life. 

Ryan felt the vice-like grip of his brother's panic loosen, then fade away.

'Sorry...' came the sheepish reply.

'Pain-in-the-ass,' Ryan teased back.

Ryan sat up in his chair, he didn't realise he'd been doubled over. He turned to Horatio, feeling the concern and worry flowing from his boss.

"I'm OK," he said simply.

"What just happened?" Horatio said to him, a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face.

Ryan replied as though the answer were obvious, "I was talking to my brother."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI:Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Bucket. I don't own CSI:Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

Ryan walked out of Horatio's office, a bounce in his step and a huge smile on his face. Of all the ways he had predicted that conversation going, THAT was NOT one of them. He grinned cheerily at Speed and Eric as he walked past the Trace Lab, giving them a happy wave and snickering at their bewildered expressions. He headed for the breakroom, resisting the urge he had to jump in the air and click his heels together like they did in musicals. Once in the breakrom, he poured himself a cup of the mud the MDPD called coffee and sat down on the well-worn couch. He reached into his pocket for his cellphone, pulled it out and dialled Bucket's familiar number.

"Hello?" the gruff voice of the USMC Captain made Ryan smile.

"Bucket, it's me."

"Hey, buddy, long time since I heard from you. Everything OK?"

Ryan just grinned, resisting the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl. 

"Everything's cool up here. Just, I told my boss about me and Caleb."

Ryan held the phone away from his ear, expecting and getting Bucket's best drill sergeant roar.

"YOU WHAT?"

"Calm down, Bucket. Geez, you're gonna send me deaf one of these days. And before you ask... Yes. No. No. Yes. Yes. No."

"What the hell are you on about, Ryan?"

Ryan felt Caleb start to snicker through their link.

"I was answering your questions, Captain Oblivious. Yes, I told my boss. No, he didn't fire me. No, he's not gonna turn me over to the Registry. Yes, he knows Caleb is blind. Yes, he knows where you and Caleb are. No, he isn't going to send someone after you."

The USMC Captain was silent for a few seconds. Then he grumbled, "I hate it when you do that."

Ryan and Caleb both cracked up laughing, giggling like kids til tears ran down their faces.

"Whoo, OK, I'm good now," Ryan laughed down the phone.

Ryan continued, "In fact, Horatio has told me to bring Caleb back to Miami. He can live with me and he'll be under the full protection of the MDPD."

There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally Bucket spoke.

"Is that a good idea?"

"We think so."

"We?" 

"Caleb was watching when I spoke to Horatio."

"Oh." 

Ryan frowned. This wasn't going as he'd planned. He sent a questioning thought out to his brother and was given a mental eye-roll in response.

'What's up with Bucket?'

'Ryan, for someone so smart you sure are dumb. You only said that I would be moving to Miami. Not Bucket. He probably thinks we're abandoning him or something.'

'Oh.' 

'Yeah, oh. Now tell him or he'll think you've hung up on him.'

"Bucket? You there?"

"Mm-hmm." 

Ryan winced as he heard the defeated tone in his foster-father's voice. 

"Bucket, I meant that you AND Caleb could come to Miami. As much as I trust the MDPD, I know that they aren't gonna drop everything for me and Cay like you are. We need you up here."

'Nicely done brother mine, he's happy again now.'

Ryan could hear the grin in Bucket's voice as he replied.

"Oh, hell, Ryan don't do that to me. I thought you guys were just gonna disappear."

"Never." 

"OK, enough Hallmark crap. When do we leave?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI: Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Bucket. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue. Kudos to 'Empire Records'. That movie rocks!

Caleb Wolfe patted his right thigh and smiled when he felt Rabbit's harness hit his palm. For the next few weeks he was going to have to pull off the Academy Award winning performance of 'the poor blind guy'. Ryan's neighbours needed to believe that Ryan was just an average, everyday guy, who was good enough to help out his poor blind brother.

Bucket and Ryan were moving all Caleb's stuff into the spare bedroom that would now be his. To avoid suspicion, Bucket had moved into a different house, within walking distance of the twins. Listening to his brother and his foster-father grunt and curse as they hauled box after box into the house, Caleb smirked evilly to himself. It was times like these that being blind wasn't so bad after all.

Bucket grimaced as he stretched his back, wincing as the individual vertebrae popped themselves back into position. He turned to Ryan, whose sweaty hair had flopped into his face, making him seem far younger than he was.

"That's the last of it."

Ryan groaned and stretched his own back. He flipped Bucket the bird as the Marine Captain laughed at him.

"Thank God for that. How the hell did you manage to get so much crap, Cay?"

The blind man whistled for his dog, then manoeuvred his way up to where the Marine Captain and his brother were standing. He put on an affronted look.

"Crap? Crap, you say? Well, I'm _sorry_, if Braille books weigh more than regular books."

Bucket started to apologise, then cut himself off as he saw the twinkle in Caleb's stormy, grey eyes. He gave Ryan a look as the blind man's twin snickered. Ryan winked at Bucket and grinned.

"You know, Cay, it wasn't the Braille books that got me worried, it was the Braille porn we found."

The blind man just grinned and made a rude gesture at his brother. The Marine Captain was stunned for a second, then smiled wryly at the antics of his boys and shook his head. He grinned at his boys, said goodbye, and then drove off to his own house where countless more boxes lay waiting to be unpacked.

"Well, brother mine, ready for the grand tour?"

Caleb turned his head to the sound of his brother's voice. Ryan resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Caleb deliberately looked over his head and slightly off to the left, Caleb knew full well where Ryan was standing. Gripping Rabbit's harness with his right hand, he stretched out his left until it came into contact with Ryan's arm. Hooking his arm into Ryan's, Caleb let his brother lead him up the path and into their home. He snickered at the irony of Ryan 'leading him up the garden path', and then shook his head when his brother asked him to explain the joke.

Ryan led his brother into the house, making his way carefully up the path, talking to Caleb the entire time, the two men playing the parts of 'blind guy' and 'blind guy's carer' to a tee. As soon as Caleb heard the door snick shut after the twins, he dropped Ryan's arm like it was burning him. Ryan shook his head, grinned at his brother's performance, then closed his eyes and slid into the link that allowed Caleb to see through his eyes. He opened his eyes slowly, always slightly disoriented when Caleb joined him. He smiled and turned to his twin, grinning as Caleb's own smile grew bigger and bigger.

"So," Ryan said to his double, "What do you think?"

Grabbing Ryan's shoulder and hauling him around the living room so he could look at everything, Caleb paused when he saw that his slightly OCD twin had organised EVERYTHING. Magazines, DVD's, CD's and books. All were organised, and, my God, he'd actually put them in alphabetical order. Caleb grinned to himself, and then fought back his mirth. He turned to his twin and spoke in a flat voice.

"It's too clean."

"Excuse me?"

Ryan watched with raised eyebrows as his brother leant down next to the coffee table where he'd neatly placed all the magazines (the fact that he'd put them in alphabetical order dead in the centre of the table had nothing to do with it, it wasn't OCD, it wasn't) and with one swipe of his arm, brushed the magazines off the table and onto the floor.

"HEY!"

Grumbling to himself, Ryan moved to pick up the magazines his brother had unceremoniously dumped on the floor. He instinctively slid them into alphabetical order, scowling at his brother who had doubled over with barely suppressed laughter. He placed them back on the table, barely resisting the urge to slide them into the dead centre of the table. He shot his brother another glare when Caleb's hand stretched out and mixed up the order, and was about to yell at him when he realised he was glaring at his brother because he shifted some magazines. Ryan shook his head and sent his brother a mental apology.

'Sorry, Cay, I guess I am kinda OCD.'

'It's alright, Ry, we'll deal with it.'

The two, identical men moved in tandem through the house, Caleb taking in everything using Ryan's eyes and his own hands, so that when Ryan was unable to give him the use of his eyes, Caleb could still function. Moving back into the living room, the two men sat down on the couch. Caleb fidgeted slightly and Ryan frowned as he sensed his brother's discomfort.

"What's up, Caleb?"

"Um…"

"Caleb…"

"I wanna watch a movie. It's been ages since I actually got to WATCH a movie, you know, without having people describe the action to me," the blind man continued to ramble, not noticing as his brother put the DVD in the player and hit play.

Caleb stopped talking and grinned as he heard the opening credits of the twins' favourite movie, 'Empire Records.' It was the first movie Caleb had watched through Ryan's eyes and it still never failed to amuse him. He shifted over on the couch so his brother could sit beside him.

"Damn the man…" Caleb said a huge grin on his face.

"Save the Empire," Ryan finished an identical grin on his own face.

Settling himself down on the couch with a Braille copy of 'Around the World in 80 Days', Caleb Wolfe prepared to spend some time reading before Ryan's workmates came over. He was still stunned at the response he had gotten from Ryan's workmates. They had never even met, hell, they didn't even know about him until a few weeks ago, and yet they were still hounding Ryan for a meeting and asking how he was at every opportunity. He opened his book and was just running his fingers over the first sentence when there was a knock at the door. Scowling, he closed his book, hauled himself up off the couch, whistled for Rabbit and made his way to the front door.

'You got it, Cay?' Ryan sent through their link.

'Yeah, yeah,' Caleb sent back, earning himself a mental eye-roll in response.

"Can I help you?" Caleb asked as he opened the door.

"Jesus Christ!" came the response from the man on the other side of the screen door.

"No, Caleb Wolfe, who am I speaking to?" Caleb shot back with a grin; it never failed to amuse him when people saw him and Ryan for the first time.

"Sorry, man, I'm Tim Speedle, but most people just call me Speed. I work with your brother."

"Cool. Hang on; just let me unlock this... Damn it! Ryan has the key. RYAN!"

Ryan came up behind his brother, jingling the keys as he went. He grinned at Speed, unlocked the door and ushered him inside.

"Ry, I wanna see."

"Hang on, Cay, let him get inside first."

Speed watched the twins in fascination; they really seemed to be two parts of the same whole. Ryan rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Speed, returning his friend's grin. His smile faded slightly and he shot his friend a worried look.

"This might look weird," he warned.

"Says the guy who organizes his crime scene kit alphabetically," Speed returned with a smirk.

"Oh, tell me he doesn't," Caleb groaned.

"He does," Speed snickered.

"When you've all finished talking about me," Ryan said, moving to place his hand on Caleb's shoulder, "Here, Cay."

Speed watched in fascination, and with a tiny bit of fear, as the two brothers linked. He narrowed his eyes as Ryan turned his head to look directly at him. He started slightly as Caleb's jaw dropped and the blind man cracked up laughing.

"What?" Speed asked looking confused.

Without warning, Ryan's eyes narrowed, and then he burst into startled laughter. The twins stood there howling with mirth, a very confused Tim Speedle standing in the hallway with them. Fighting back their laughter, the twins spoke in unison.

"Who knows where thoughts come from, they just appear. Mm-hmm."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI: Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** Once again, I own Caleb and Bucket, but sweet F.A. else.

"_Who knows where thoughts come from, they just appear. Mm-hmm."_

Speed blinked at the twins in shock as they spoke in perfect unison. Identical evil grins broke out on identical faces. Speed opened his mouth to ask what the hell the two were grinning at, when the doorbell rang. Looking at Caleb, Ryan frowned inexplicably and shook his head as his twin moved to answer the door. Glancing between the two, Speed realised, his jaw dropping, that they'd just spoken to each other. Without speaking. To each other. In their heads. Not out loud. But they'd spoken. To each other.

'Nice Speed, now you aren't even making sense in your head. And what the hell were they laughing at?' he thought to himself.

"We were laughing because you look just like Lucas, one of the characters in our favourite movie, Empire Records," Ryan told him out of nowhere.

"How…"

"You were thinking loudly."

"JESUS CHRIST!" (This came from outside the door).

"No, Caleb Wolfe, how can I help you?"

Speed snickered, recognising both Eric's voice and the words Caleb had used to greet him. Caleb turned as Ryan obviously spoke inside his head and reached for the door handle to let Eric inside. Speed grinned at Ryan, who turned and grinned back at him. Eric appeared startled as Caleb blinked and held out his hands, looking disoriented.

"Hey!" Caleb yelped, and sent his brother the scathing thought 'When you've finished making eyes at Speed, could you possibly swing back over here so I can open the door?'

"Oh geez, sorry Cay," Ryan said turning back to look at Eric as he moved to stand next to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder in silent apology and sending back 'Keep it to yourself, Caleb… oh and FYI… Eric's single too'.

"Hey, come on in," Ryan said to Eric, before glancing over his shoulder and smiling as the familiar Hummer pulled up outside, followed by Alexx's blue sedan.

Speed heard a gentle tap and turned to see a dog in a harness move into position by Caleb's hand. Caleb grinned in Speed's direction and said simply, "Rabbit."

Speed blinked and asked, "Why'd you name your dog Rabbit?"

Caleb laughed as Ryan called over his shoulder in a deceptively innocent voice, "Go on Caleb, tell the nice men why you named your blind-seeing-eye dog, Rabbit and gimme my eyes back if you have the dog."

Both Speed and Eric watched as Ryan's eyes went vacant for a few seconds, before he shook his head and turned back to his brother, who grinned, before the doorbell rang a third time and Ryan went to answer it.

"I named him Rabbit so when sighted people inevitably asked 'Why did you name your dog, Rabbit?' I could look at them funny and ask, 'they gave me a dog!'"

Speed and Eric laughed along with Caleb as Ryan let Horatio, Calleigh and Alexx into their house. Ryan sighed melodramatically and let his eyes go vacant again as Caleb gave him the best puppy eyes since they got Rabbit. Without warning, Ryan choked, doubling over, looking in horror at Horatio and Calleigh, before swinging around to glare at his twin. Caleb had a dubiously innocent look on his face (but had chosen that exact moment to mentally inform his brother that he was of the opinion that Horatio and Calleigh were 'bonking each others brains out'). Eric looked between the two, before turning to Speed, a bewildered look on his face.

"Don't look at me," Speed said to the Cuban-Russian CSI, "I don't know either."

In the half an hour since the entire team arrived at the twins' house, introductions were made, drinks were gotten and the pizza was ordered. The team sat in the backyard, attempting to make small talk with the twins, while the twins fidgeted in their chairs, inexplicable frowns flitting across both their faces. It was Ryan who finally broke.

"Damn it! Will you PLEASE just ask the questions you want to ask? You're projecting them loud enough for every reader in a ten mile radius to hear you."

Caleb grinned and crowed to his brother, "You owe me $20!"

The team looked bewildered until Ryan explained, "Caleb bet me $20 that I would break and tell you to just ask your questions before he did."

Alexx frowned, "But you didn't say anything…"

"Not that you heard," the twins said in unison.

The team blinked, looking more like the proverbial stunned mullets than the dedicated professionals that they were. Horatio recovered first, moving quickly into interrogation mode.

"The first thing I think we all need to know is what exactly a 'reader' is?"

"Pizza's here, you get food, I'll do question-time," Caleb said out of nowhere, tilting his head to the side and shooing his brother towards the door, before turning back to the stunned CSI's and answering Horatio's question with, "Readers, like Ryan and me, do exactly that. We read people. We feel lies, like… I don't know, like someone has been sweeping rubbish under a rug for so long that it eventually causes a bump. We see other people's thoughts and emotions like words on a computer screen. Well, Ryan does, I feel them like Braille words under my fingers. Am I making any sense whatsoever?"

"Perfect sense, honey," came Alexx's voice from somewhere to Caleb's right, "I'd like to know who Bucket is, I want to meet the man who raised two of my boys."

"I'm Bucket," the former USMC Captain said walking across the backyard with Ryan.

The M.E. smiled, before standing and holding out her hand, "Dr. Alexx Woods, I've kind of adopted your boys, I hope you don't mind."

"Captain Charlie Murphy. Why would I mind? The boys need mothering and a Marine Captain isn't exactly the best person to do that."

The two sat down, chatting like they'd been friends for years, and began discussing the twins like they weren't even there. Caleb, Ryan and Speed's (Alexx's 'boys' at the crime lab) jaws all dropped.

"Well, damn!" Speed finally said.

"They're plotting, aren't they?" Caleb asked, a look of impending doom crossing his expressive face.

"Oh yeah," his twin answered, not taking his eyes off his official foster father and his unofficial foster mother.

"Now, what I want to know is why you moved to Uruguay with Caleb and Ryan was here in Miami?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI: Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Bucket. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

In the crime lab, Ryan hit the end call button on his cell phone. He swore long and loud before forcibly calming himself down. Speed glanced up at him, concerned curiosity reflected in his dark eyes.

"You know," the dark haired trace analyst said calmly, moving through the lab whilst looking sideways at Ryan, "I don't think that's anatomically possible."

Ryan snorted with laughter despite all his attempts not to. He glanced around the crime lab, looking through the glass walls, making sure the halls were empty. He looked at Speed, a question in his eyes. Speed nodded.

"Talk to your brother, my MP3 player's in the drawer, if anyone comes in, I'll cover for you."

Ryan gave his co-worker a grateful smile, ignoring the aerobatics the butterflies in his stomach were doing at Speed's return smile. He searched through the drawer, found the elusive MP3 player (the two had found that pretending Ryan couldn't hear a thing over the music worked best when Ryan needed to talk to Caleb during work hours), put the earphones in his ears and let his eyes go vacant, linking with his twin.

'Cay?'

'What the hell do you want?'

'You've heard then?'

'He phoned me before he phoned you.'

'You need me to come home?'

'No…'

'What is it?'

'How much did you like that gravy boat? The one with the ducks on it?'

'I thought it was hideous, why?'

'I threw it at the wall.'

'Right-o. Did you get all the broken pieces?'

'I think so. Gimme your eyes and I'll check. This sucks Ryan.'

'I know, Caleb. But we knew it was a possibility when you two moved down here. Did you get it all?'

'Yeah.'

'You sure you don't want me to come home?'

'I'm sure. Shouldn't you be working?'

'Speed's watching over me.'

'I'll bet he is…'

'Shut up, Cay. Want me to bring home Chinese?'

'Broccoli beef and moo-shoo pork?'

'Sure. See you tonight, Cay.'

Ryan blinked as he came back to himself, the trace lab walls swimming back into focus. He rolled his shoulders, easing the kinks out of them, sighing as he pulled the earphones out of his ears and placed Speed's MP3 player back in the drawer. He sighed and turned around, leaping backwards with an undignified squawk as he came face to face with an irritable looking Alexx Woods. Speed sent him an apologetic look from behind Alexx's back, Eric and Calleigh snickered at his startled yelp and Horatio watched him carefully from his position in the doorway.

"Honey, you need to tell me what's going on," the M.E. said her hands planted firmly on her hips, "I heard you swearing from the reception desk. And Speedy's right, that isn't anatomically possible."

Ryan gave his unofficial foster-mother a sheepish smile. He sighed and sat down on one of the lab stools, stretching his arms behind his back.

"Bucket got recalled back to Uruguay," he said shortly.

"Oh, sweetheart," Alexx said sympathetically, moving to wrap her boy in a hug.

"Alexx, me and Cay are fine, most of the swearing and carrying on was Bucket," the Reader explained, smiling down at the M.E, "He _really _didn't want to go back."

Horatio frowned, moving into the trace lab, "I'm not sure I understand."

Realization dawned first on Speed's face and then on Eric's. The two men snickered helplessly. Ryan gave them a mock glare which only made the two men laugh harder. A smile finally fought itself onto Ryan's face.

"Guys, they feel strong emotion and I'm guessing that was one pissed Marine captain," Eric said grinning at the sheepish looking Ryan.

"Hey, come on, Caleb threw a gravy boat at the wall. At least I didn't throw stuff," Ryan protested, his face flushing lightly.

Two days after Bucket left for Uruguay, Ryan let himself into his house and shut the door with his foot. He stopped and stared as Caleb's head popped up from behind the couch, spy-movie style.

"Ryan? That you?" he hissed in an exaggerated whisper.

"Yeah…" he said slowly, putting his keys and cell phone on the coffee table, still giving his brother an odd look.

"Oh thank God, I thought it might be Alexx again. She came round in her lunch break with cookies. Nice cookies, I saved you some. But I started to get scared when she turned into a psychiatrist, I fully expected her to take out a pen and paper and say 'Now tell me about your mother…' Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but I'm just not used to this whole 'mommy' thing," Caleb said, still hiding behind the couch.

Ryan howled with laughter at the sight of his normally fearless and independent brother hiding behind the couch because of a certain mothering M.E. Caleb grinned wryly as he extricated himself from behind the couch. Ryan was still laughing hysterically when the door bell rang. Shaking his head at his brother, Caleb walked over to the door and answered it. Speed and Eric stood on the doorstep; Caleb let them in as Ryan moved up beside his brother, still wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Hey guys," Speed said, "You wanna grab something to eat? El Cubano Loco and I thought we'd come save you from Alexx Woods and the Casserole of Doom."

Speed's comment only set Ryan off again, the normally reserved trace analyst leaning against the wall, barely able to breathe he was laughing so hard. Speed and Eric looked at him and then at each other and shrugged. Caleb grinned and nodded, moving back into the lounge room and picking up his titanium cane and Ryan's cell phone and keys. He walked back into the hall where Ryan had finally managed to calm himself down and lobbed the cell phone and keys towards his brother who caught them deftly, before grinning at Eric and bowing the Cuban-Russian CSI out of the door.

'You want him bad,' Caleb sent to his brother his titanium cane gently tapping the ground in front of him.

'I do not!' Ryan sent back, struggling to keep his face impassive as he walked with Speed and Eric across the parking lot.

"Stairs, Caleb" Eric said, gently touching the blind man's shoulder as they approached the steps leading up to the restaurant.

'You were saying…?' Ryan sent to his brother, fighting the evil smirk that threatened to cross his face as his twin blushed.

'He was just trying to help,' Caleb sent back stubbornly.

'You want him bad,' Ryan mimicked, mentally wiggling his eyebrows at his brother.

Speed and Eric looked from one twin to the other, opening their mouths to speak, then thinking better of it and staying quiet.

The twins flashed the two CSI's identical grins and pushed open the door to the Mediterranean restaurant Eric had picked out. The four men walked inside and started walking up to an empty table when the two readers froze. Ryan and Caleb's eyes widened.

"Caleb…"

"I know."

Eric and Speed looked around, trying in vain to find the threat that the twins could so obviously sense, hands automatically traveling to their hips in search of their weapons.

"On three, Ry?"

"Uh-huh, one…"

"Two…"

"THREE!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Brothers

**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy

**Fandom:** CSI: Miami

**Rating:** FRT

**Pairing:** None

**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb and Clayton Felderbaum. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

"_On three, Ry?"_

"_Uh-huh, one…"_

"_Two…"_

"_THREE!"_

Moving in tandem, the readers raced through the restaurant, crash tackling Speed and Eric to the floor. Shots rang out overhead. A woman screamed. Glasses smashed. Still moving in unison the twins bounced back onto their feet, Ryan drawing his gun, Caleb folding his cane in half and holding it like a sword. The twins moved towards the back of the restaurant, Ryan scanning left and right, relying on both his and Caleb's insight, while Caleb kept his head bowed towards the floor, keen ears made almost superhuman by his lack of sight, listening for any discrepancies missed by his twin's eyes.

'Ryan, by the thump, swish, thump,' Caleb sent to his brother.

Used to his brother describing things by the way they sound, Ryan swung his head round to look for the 'thump, swish, thump' his eyes finally landing on the door to the kitchen. His eyes fell on the man in a suit standing by the table nearest the door. The man at the table gave the two Readers an almost feral smile and holstered the gun that had fired the shots across the restaurant. Ryan holstered his gun, a disgusted grimace twisting his normally handsome face. Eric and Speed watched in bewilderment from their position on the floor, still lying where Ryan and Caleb had tackled them minutes before. With an identical grimace twisting his own face, Caleb flicked his wrist, bringing his cane around in front of him again before moving to stand next to his brother, the gentle tapping of the titanium cane against tables and the floor the only sound in the otherwise silent restaurant.

The restaurant's manager, who up until now had stood utterly flabbergasted behind the counter, stormed over to the twins and the man in a suit and planted himself between them. He looked, understandably so, Ryan thought, absolutely furious.

"What in the hell is going on here!" the manager hissed.

"Clayton Felderbaum, Reader Registry," the man in the suit said, flashing an ID card at the manager that was obviously supposed to impress him.

The manager continued to glare at the man in the suit… Clayton… not a bit intimidated by the suit, the Agent Smith sunglasses or the ID card. Ryan and Caleb both fought back smiles. This one was obviously a newbie.

"Are you aware that these two men are Readers, sir?" the Registry agent said, gesturing to Ryan and Caleb.

Ryan and Caleb took on affronted expressions. The twins glared at the Registry agent, moving in unison to unbutton the cuffs on their left wrists. The manager glanced down at the twins wrists for a second, before smiling grimly at the Registry agent and unbuttoning his own left cuff, leaving the agent looking completely stunned.

Their shirtsleeves now unbuttoned, the twins turned their left hands over so the palms were facing up. As one, they slapped the inside of their wrists lightly, waiting until the internal tattoo that showed they were registered readers glowed blue on their skin. Their faces broke into identical grins as the manager did the same. Holding their wrists out to the Registry agent, the twins' smiles faded and they shot him glares that most people would have run from.

"We're registered, asshole," they snarled in unison.

"And so am I," the manager added, "So, you can get the hell out of my restaurant."

The manager nodded to the security guard who had followed him over, keeping a respectful distance while his boss talked to the rude bastard who shot up his restaurant. An evil smirk broke out onto the security guard's face as he forcibly removed the Registry agent from the restaurant. Pausing at the door, holding Clayton Felderbaum by the scruff of his neck with his right hand, the beefy security guard smacked his left hand none-too-gently against his hip.

"For the record," he said, tossing Clayton down the stairs, "I'm registered too."

Ryan glanced around the restaurant, wincing at the damage he and Caleb had caused. Chairs and tables were overturned, glasses were smashed on the floor and gooey messes of what was once people's dinners were splattered everywhere.

'How bad?' Caleb sent.

'Remember Sizzler's in Santa Barbara?' Ryan returned.

'Oh crap.'

'Pretty much.'

Turning to the manager, Ryan frowned and started to apologize profusely, offering to pay for all the damage. The manager held up a hand to silence him, but Ryan kept rambling, his OCD kicking in and making the mess seem bigger and more than it actually was. Caleb put his hand on Ryan's arm and squeezed gently. Ryan stopped talking, giving the manager a sheepish look.

"To be honest, son, I've never had so much fun with the Registry around," the manager said with a grin, "And you gave Robbie, over there, an excuse to throw a Registry official out on his ass. So as far as I'm concerned, you guys are ok."

The twins both broke into relieved smiles, not that many people would have been so accepting. Ryan's hand flew to his mouth as he suddenly remembered Speed and Eric. By the look on Caleb's face, he'd just realized the same thing. Spinning around, the twins moved back through the restaurant to where their friends were still on the floor. Kneeling down by the dark-eyed trace analyst, Ryan held out a hand and helped Speed to his feet. To his left, he saw Caleb doing the same thing with Eric.

"You ok?" the twins asked the CSI's.

Eric and Speed glanced at each other, their eyes wide as saucers and then back at the twins. They looked around the trashed restaurant, catching the eyes of the manager, the barmaid and Robbie, who all grinned and waved. Speed spoke first.

"What the hell just happened?"

"What he said." Eric added.

Ryan and Caleb looked suitably abashed and said, "Umm…"

"I got a better idea," Eric said suddenly, "We go back to your place and we get pizza delivered. And you explain what the flying hell just happened in the car on the way."

"No offence," he added, glancing over at the restaurant staff, who shook their heads and waved them off.

The four men walked out of the trashed restaurant, Ryan and Caleb feeling guilty about leaving it in the state it was. All four walked through the parking lot and back to the car in silence. Driving back through Miami, it was, once again, Speed who spoke first.

"So, you going to explain what went on in there?"

Ryan started speaking, "The guy who shot the place up, was from the Reader Registry. Every so often they send out agents, usually overzealous assholes like the one you saw, to try and hunt down Readers who aren't registered."

Caleb took over, "For a while, Ryan and I were on their shit list because I point blank refused to register. To me it seemed like we were asking for their permission to exist. And because I wouldn't register, Ryan refused to register too."

Ryan cut in, "But then when we were 19, the Unregistered Reader Legislation was passed. It meant that any Reader that couldn't show a Registry agent their tattoo when asked could be shot on sight. After that I pretty much, forced Caleb to register."

Caleb stepped up, "That guy in the restaurant was probably going through old case files, saw our names come up repeatedly on the shit list and thought he'd make a good name for himself in the Registry by taking down the Wolfe twins without actually checking to see whether we had registered since then or not."

Eric blinked at the matter-of-fact tone the twins were using to describe being on the most wanted list of a federal agency, "Does that happen a lot?"

"It used to, but not so much anymore," Caleb answered, flashing him a smile that the handsome Hispanic couldn't help but return.

Opening the door to his house, Ryan let Caleb, Eric and Speed in before entering himself and closing the door behind him. In the lounge room, Caleb was already arguing about pizza with Eric. Ryan leaned against the front door, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. He stayed there for a while, trying to ignore the headache building between his eyes. Feeling a familiar presence move in front of him, he cracked open one eye. He blinked and looked up into Speed's worried brown eyes.

"You alright?" he asked.

Ryan gave him a soft smile and nodded, pushing himself away from the door. Speed grabbed his wrist with one hand and placed the other under Ryan's chin.

"You sure?"

Ryan nodded again, and then realized he was still holding Speed's hand. The Reader turned crimson and let go, moving into the lounge room without looking to see if Speed was following.

Speed stood in the hallway, stunned and a little hurt, watching Ryan's retreating back as the Reader made his way into the lounge room. Readers were supposed to feel strong emotion, couldn't he feel this?

Ryan felt like banging his head against the wall. He was so damn stupid. What was it about Speed that turned him into such an idiot?

Caleb tilted his head to the side, taking in the defeat and sadness that rolled off both his brother and Speed. He fought the urge to roll his eyes and smack the two men upside the head. Although if they didn't get their act together soon he would be forced to take drastic action. He'd heard the crime lab elevators were pretty cozy between floors at this time of year. An evil smirk spread over the blind man's face as he began to plot.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Pairing:** None yet.  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no  
own. You no sue.

Ryan moved through the trace lab silently, bags under his eyes, the   
normal banter between the two lost since that day at the restaurant.  
Speed was bent over his microscope, the tension in his back clearly   
visible through the glass walls of the lab. The entire team had  
started to worry. Eric watched from his place in the layout room,  
his head tilted to one side, a frown creasing his forehead. Alexx  
had been making more trips up from the morgue than normal, on the   
pretense of bringing autopsy reports up, rather than sending an  
intern or waiting for one of the CSI's to come down and get them.  
Horatio had taken to keeping a closer eye on them from his office,  
God forbid anything should happen to either of them. Calleigh had  
been using any excuse she could find to try and get the two alone.   
Everything from getting them to work scenes together, ride the  
elevator alone, stay in the break room by themselves; anything to  
make the two realize how (to quote Caleb in a temper) freaking   
knobheaded, stupid, ridiculous and twatfeatured' they were being.

Speed was about ready to cry. Or hit something. Or bash his head  
against the wall. Or shove Ryan against the nearest hard surface and  
kiss him senseless. Or throw himself under a bus. Or get on his bike  
and ride until he either fell off or ran out of petrol. Or sleep for  
a week. He didn't know which. And it was tearing him apart.

Ryan wasn't stupid, he could feel what Speed was feeling, and he  
wasn't a Reader for nothing. He felt the same way, had done for  
months, but he had absolutely no freaking idea what he was supposed  
to do about it. Everyone he'd ever been romantically attached to had   
run screaming for the hills when they found out he was a Reader. He   
snorted. Romantically attached, Caleb would love that. And the  
migraines he'd been getting lately hadn't been helping either. He  
sighed and rubbed his eyes, speaking of migraines, he would stake   
everything he owned on the fact that he would be getting one by the  
end of the day. He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate  
on the results in front of him. He was shaken out of his reverie  
when Eric stuck his head into the trace lab.

"See you guys tomorrow," Eric called through the door.

"Bye Delko," Speed called back, waving absently, without looking up   
from his microscope.

"Aren't you watching the game with Cay tonight, Delko?" Ryan asked,  
not looking up from his results, picking up crime scene photos and   
comparing them to the results he held in his hand.

"Um, yeah," the Cuban mumbled, blushing furiously, shooting the now   
smirking Speed a glare.

"Hurt my brother, I will kill you and they will never find the body.  
Have fun!" Ryan said, never once looking up from comparing the   
photos to his results.

Eric blinked, opened his mouth to say something, thought better of  
it, shook his head and carried on down the hall. Speed snickered and   
Ryan looked at him, slightly surprised. Their eyes met, and Speed's  
face twisted. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it  
again and turned away. Ryan winced and looked back down at his  
photos. Ryan steeled himself; this had gone on long enough. He  
opened his mouth to speak, but Speed beat him to it.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?" the Reader responded hesitantly.

"We're ok, right? I mean, I shouldn't have ignored you. But we're  
good, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I sense a but…" the older trace analyst said, raising an eyebrow.

"I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotion, Speed. Believe me  
when I say that we need to talk," the Reader said, hoping that Speed   
wouldn't see his words as rejection.

Speed nodded, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes.  
His head turned to the side as the printer beeped and spat out the   
report he had been waiting to take to Horatio. Still looking at  
Ryan, Speed pulled a pad of Post-It notes out of the drawer and a  
pen out of the pocket of his lab coat. He quickly scribbled  
something on a Post-It note, tucked the pen back into his pocket,  
picked up his report and walked out of the trace lab sticking the  
Post-It to Ryan's chest on the way out. Ryan blinked, staring down  
at the little, yellow sticky-note stuck to his chest. He pulled it  
off, turning it around, his eyes widening as he saw Speed's address  
and the words 7:30pm, Be There' written on it. He let out an   
exasperated groan as his cell phone beeped. He gathered up the  
papers in front of him and put them carefully into the folder, his  
OCD not even giving him a break when his head felt like it was going  
to fall off. He placed the folder into the filing cabinet and walked   
towards the lab doors, pulling the phone out of his pocket and  
answering it.

"Wolfe."

With a growl, Ryan hung up the phone very carefully, placing the  
cell phone gently in his pocket. He stood in the hallway taking deep   
calming breaths, trying to ignore his aching head.

"Damn telemarketers."

Without warning, a searing pain screamed through Ryan's head. The  
Reader's eyes widened and a strangled cry was torn from his lips.  
Ryan gasped and sank to his knees, unable even to scream the pain  
was so bad. He was vaguely aware of Speed next to him, calling his  
name and grabbing him by the shoulders. Ryan pulled back from Speed,  
he thinks he told Speed not to touch him, but the pain was so bad he   
could have said just about anything. Tears formed in his eyes and  
rolled down his cheeks as the pain shifted from a screaming burn to  
an unbearable throb. Ryan's hands were pressed against his ears, his   
nails digging into his temples, crescent-moon shaped cuts dripping  
blood down the side of his face. Or was that his nose bleeding? Ryan   
didn't know. He didn't care, there was blood and it was on him. A  
low keening sound filled his ears and it took him a few seconds to   
realize that the keening sound was coming from him.

RYAN!' Caleb's voice screamed in his head. Was it in his head?  
He didn't know anymore. Oh God, oh God, make it go away.

It hurts, it hurts, Speed hurts, he's scared, he's confused, I  
can't do this, Speed can't help, blood everywhere, I'm scared, it  
hurts,' he moaned back, not knowing if his brother was feeling this  
too, not caring and hating himself for it.

What is it? Where is it? I can't see it, I can't hear it, I can't  
feel it. It's not in the house, Eric can't stop it, he's scared, he   
hurts,' Ryan could hear the agony in his twin's voice.

The shrill ringing of Speed's cell phone made Ryan scream and curl  
up in a ball in a pathetic attempt to hide from the pain in his  
head. Staring in horror at the scene before him, Speed lunged for  
the phone, anything to ease Ryan's pain. He glanced at the caller ID  
and stared. Delko? Oh my God. Caleb. He jammed his finger down on  
the button and pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Eric?" he almost whimpered, hating how pathetic his voice sounded.

"Speed?" came the Cuban's voice, sounding as horrified as he did,  
while in the background Speed could hear Caleb sobbing and moaning.

"What is this, Eric?"

"I don't know, I don't know," the Cuban moaned, almost   
hyperventilating down the phone.

Hearing the scream, the rest of the team came racing up the hallway,  
Horatio in the lead his gun drawn, Calleigh behind him, covering his  
back and shielding Alexx. Tearing around the corner they stopped  
short at the sight of Ryan curled in the fetal position on the  
floor, writhing in pain, moaning and sobbing, his face pale and  
Speed on his knees next to him, tears running down his own cheeks,  
one hand fluttering over Ryan as though he were unsure if should  
touch him, the other clutching his cell phone to his ear for dear  
life, his voice uncertain and filled with pain as he asked over and  
over, What is this, Eric? What's going on?'

Not even holstering their guns, Horatio and Calleigh just stopped  
and stared. They froze. What perps with guns, bombs and hostages had  
not been able to do to the hardened ex-bomb squad detective and the  
CSI known collectively as Bullet Girl', the sight of their friend   
writhing in pain that had no obvious cause did. They froze and they  
panicked. But Alexx Woods, while not trained to deal with loonies  
with guns or bombs, was trained to deal with people in pain. She  
didn't even hesitate but jumped in with both feet, running over to  
the stricken Reader and checking him for any visible wounds or  
bruises, anything that could be causing the pain he was in. Finding  
no visible cause for the pain the Reader was in, Alexx turned to the   
shocked Speed, who was still on the phone with the equally stunned  
Eric. She snatched the phone out of his hand and placed it up to her  
own ear.

"Eric?" Alexx said softly, trying the gentle approach.

"Oh God, what's wrong with him? He's in agony and I can't do  
anything," Eric continued to ramble in this vein down the line,  
causing Alexx to wince.

"Eric!" the normally soft-spoken M.E. snapped down the line.

"Huh? Alexx? What happened to Speed?" Eric now sounded more together   
and not a little confused at hearing the M.E.'s voice instead of his   
scruffy-haired friend's.

"Speed's right here. There's nothing wrong with him. Its Ryan and  
Caleb we need to worry about. I need you to bring him back to the   
lab."

"What! I can't touch him. I tried to put him on the couch so at  
least he was comfortable and he screamed and punched me in the eye!"

"Eric, honey, think about it! My boy is a blind Reader. Name one  
hospital in Miami that's gonna treat him when they find that out."

"Shit! Shit! Shit! That is… ARGH!"

"I know, honey, its terrible. But you have to listen to me. I have  
Ryan here with me; I think he's reacting the same way as Caleb. If I  
have the two boys here I'll be able to treat them, and they might  
feel better being closer to each other. Please, Eric. I know it'll  
hurt him and I know it'll break your heart, but you have to do this.  
Pick him up, as carefully as you can, put him your car and get your  
butt down here as fast as you can without breaking any laws. Ok?"

A shaky sigh answered her, followed by a soft, "Ok."

Alexx hung up the phone, tossing it to Horatio, who caught it   
automatically. Spending some time in an ER during her residency had  
honed Alexx's ability to think on her feet. She said a silent prayer  
of thanks for it, before turning to Horatio, Calleigh and the still-  
pale Speed and giving orders.

"Calleigh. Eric will be here soon, can you wait out front for him?  
We'll be down in the morgue."

The blonde southern belle nodded, her eyes wide, and took off  
towards the elevator. Next the M.E. turned to Horatio.

"Horatio. Pick him up. Take his gun off him first. He'll probably  
scream, Eric said he tried to lift Caleb onto the couch and he  
screamed and punched him. Ignore it, he needs help and he ain't  
gonna get it in the hallway."

The redhead nodded, disarming his youngest CSI, taking a deep breath  
and lifting the young man into his arms. He winced in sympathy and   
struggled to hold him as Ryan bucked and screamed, lashing out with  
his fists and catching Horatio in the shoulder. Speed started after  
him, but was stopped by Alexx's hand on his shoulder.

"Speedy? You need to try and calm down."

The dark-haired trace analyst turned his tear-streaked face to the  
M.E. in shock and not a little anger.

"Calm down! Alexx… He could be dying for all I know, he could be  
dying and the last thing I did was stick a Post-It on his chest. And  
you want me to calm down!"

"Yes," Alexx said firmly, not at all intimidated by Speed's  
ranting, "I want you to calm down, not for my sake, not for your  
sake, but for his. Think, Timmy, think. He feels everything you  
feel. You freak out, he'll freak out. He is in agony, Tim; he  
doesn't need your worry and guilt on top of that."

The M.E.'s heartfelt words stopped Speed in his tracks. His eyes   
scrunched shut and he let his head fall onto his chest, clenching  
and unclenching his fists. He breathed deeply, trying to bring his  
crazy emotions under control. Alexx was right. Ryan didn't need his  
crap on top of his own pain right now. He opened his eyes, took a  
deep breath and held his head high; shoving his emotional turmoil  
down as far as it would go. With that in mind the M.E. and her   
scruffy-headed boy turned and walked quickly down to the morgue.

Calleigh stood in the parking lot, shifting from foot to foot,  
occasionally glancing back over her shoulder at the crime lab,  
almost convincing herself that she could hear Ryan's screams. She  
shook her head, disgusted with herself. Her head snapped up as a  
pair of headlights pulled into the parking lot and stopped across 3   
spaces. She moved over to the car as a pale and flustered Eric Delko  
hauled himself out of the driver's seat and all but ran around to  
the back seat. He flung open the door, took a deep breath and leaned  
in, easing Caleb Wolfe out of the car as gently as he could. But as   
gentle as Eric tried to be, Caleb still let out a strangled yell as  
he was lifted out of the car. The blind Reader struggled in Delko's   
arms, lashing out with both fists and feet. As Eric climbed the  
steps, Caleb in his arms and moved into the light given off by the  
crime lab, Calleigh gasped. Eric's left eye was purple and swollen.  
The Cuban-Russian gave her a humorless smile as they walked quickly  
up through the lab towards the elevator. Calleigh pressed the button   
that would take them down to the morgue and the elevator doors slid   
closed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Pairing:** None yet.  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb Wolfe and Brett and Clayton Felderbaum. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

**Thanks:** Major thanks go to Alex/Odysseus for helping in this chapter. If it wasn't for that help this chapter wouldn't have gotten written and Caleb and Ryan would have been in pain for all eternity. So cheers, dude!

Carrying the still moaning and sobbing Caleb into the morgue, Eric winced as the blind Reader once again managed to kick him in the ribs. The rest of the team looked up as Eric and Calleigh hurried in to the morgue. Alexx strode forward; spreading a sheet over the gurney next to the one Ryan was on, moaning and sobbing, a mirror image of his brother's agony. Eric carefully placed Caleb down on the gurney, gently touching the Reader's hand before moving back to stand next to Speed. Speed placed his hand on the Cuban's shoulder in silent support.

Clayton Felderbaum watched on the computer screen, where his AV tech had hacked into the security cameras from the morgue, as the twins writhed in identical throes of agony, a feral smile twisting his lips. Clayton's own twin, Brett, moved to stand by his brother, a look of concentration on his face, wincing as he saw the twins writhing and sobbing on the gurneys in the morgue of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. He shook his head in disgust. He was doing that, he was the source of the Wolfe twins' agony. The Wolfe twins were famous throughout the Reader community, the only set of Reader twins to survive past their 10th birthday. And now they were reduced to this. Sobbing, moaning, writhing wrecks. All because he couldn't stand up to his brother, because he was a coward. This had to stop.

Brett Felderbaum closed his eyes, finding the link in his mind that connected him to both Caleb and Ryan Wolfe. He winced as he saw in his mind the pain he was causing them, pain his brother had made him inflict. All because he thought that the Wolfe twins had made him look like an ass. He snorted internally; Clayton didn't need help looking like an ass. His brother was the inspiration for all things ass-y. His mind still on the link, with one sharp movement within his mind, Brett severed the agonising ties between him and the Wolfe twins. He glanced over at the computer screen, watching with a relieved look and a satisfied almost-smile as the Wolfe twins went limp, their pain gone.

Watching the two Readers go limp, Clayton's smile faded. He spun on his brother, drawing his gun and aiming it at his chest. Brett just raised an eyebrow and looked at the gun in his brother's hand. Clayton was confused. Normally just the sight of his gun would have Brett on his knees begging for his pathetic life. When did his brother grow the balls to stand up to him? Brett gave his brother a serene smile that made Clayton extremely nervous. What was his brother planning? Surely he wouldn't hurt him? They were twins. Brett heard all these thoughts running through his hypocritical brother's mind. Letting his smile grow, Brett walked forward until his chest was pressed up against the barrel of the gun.

'Hello brother,' came Brett's voice inside Clayton's head.

Clayton let out an undignified squeal, "What are you doing? Get out of my head!"

'I don't think so, Clayton.'

"Get out! Get out! Get out! I'll shoot you! I'll blow your goddamn brains out!" the Registry agent yelled, his voice getting higher and higher, until it was almost a screech.

'Go ahead. It won't matter. I'll still be here. Inside your head. You can't get rid of me. You'll never be rid of me. We're twins. Brothers. Brothers stick together, Clayton,' the Reader lied to his brother, knowing full well that if Clayton pulled the trigger, he was screwed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," the Registry agent moaned, the single word becoming a litany.

'Yes, Clayton. Together forever. But it's ok. After all, mom did tell you to always take care of me. Remember, Clayton? Always look after him, Clay, he's special. I remember. Brett, your special, your different, but not everyone will see that and some people will hate you for it. Isn't it ironic, somehow, that you grew up to be one of the people mom warned me about?'

Clayton let out a low keening wail. Brett's formerly serene smile became a positively evil grin as he took in his asshole brother's fear. He reached up and took the gun from his brother's unresisting hands, not bothering to catch him as Clayton's eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the floor. Brett wiped the gun clean, placed it back in his brother's hand, stepped over his brother's unconscious form, rifled through Clayton's pockets, pulling out his driver's license, cell phone, credit cards and cash and walked out without a backwards glance, determined to start a new life as far away from both his brother and the Wolfe twins as he could get.

In the morgue of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, Ryan and Caleb Wolfe writhed in agony, listening to each other's screams and moans, feeling each other's tears running down their cheeks, melding and merging, unsure of who was who, not knowing where one began and the other ended. Alexx flitted back and forth between the gurneys, not able to give the two Readers any painkillers for fear of hurting them more. Speed and Eric stood next to the gurneys, out of Alexx's way, tears rolling down their own faces. Horatio and Calleigh stood back, their backs almost pressed against the wall of the morgue, their faces pale and drawn.

Without warning, and scaring the hell out of everyone in the morgue, the two Readers went limp. They lay lifeless, pale, tear-streaked and bloody on gurneys in the morgue, looking for all the world like the corpses Alexx dealt with on a daily basis. Alexx lunged forward, grabbing a wrist from each Reader and feeling for a pulse, breathing a sigh of pure relief when she felt the weak but steady thump of each man's pulse under her fingertips. Letting go of her boys' wrists, she placed a gentle hand on each of their chests, feeling their chests rise and fall with each breath they took.

"They're ok," she said, her own eyes filling with tears now that the emergency was over.

Speed and Eric both seemed to crumble, leaning on each other as tears of relief rolled down their cheeks. Horatio and Calleigh moved up from their positions against the wall, coming up to stand beside Alexx as the M.E. moved around both gurneys, checking the Readers' vitals. It was Horatio who asked the question everyone wanted answers to.

"What the hell was that, Alexx?" the red-headed supervisor asked; the fact that he cursed betraying his fear more than his tone of voice ever could.

"I don't know, Horatio, I honestly don't know," the M.E. replied, furious with herself, frustrated that the two things she was good at (being a mother and being a doctor) had failed to protect her boys.

"A virus or an illness that only affects Readers?" Calleigh spoke up, her eyes not leaving the bloody furrows Ryan had managed to gouge into his own temples.

"Then it's like no virus I've ever seen. As far as I know, no-one else was affected, only these two. And a virus wouldn't have manifested this quickly. No, Calleigh, I don't think it's a virus," Alexx said, shaking her head.

"It was another Reader," a weak voice spoke up.

Speed's head snapped up, "Ryan?"

"Not so loud…" moaned another weak voice.

Eric's head snapped up in an identical motion, "Caleb?"

Shoving past the rest of the team, Speed and Eric moved to stand beside the twins. In unison, the twins' hands reached out, Ryan for Speed's and Caleb for Eric's. Alexx smiled as all her boys were reunited. Eric took Caleb's hand, and then blushed furiously. He studiously avoided looking at the rest of the team, as the blind man ghosted his hand up the Cuban's arm and across his chest, tugging on his hand when he couldn't reach any further. Eric obligingly bent down and the Reader ran his hand up his neck and over his face. When Caleb got to Eric's left eye he yanked his hand back as though he'd been burned.

The blind man frowned, "I did that, didn't I?"

Eric nodded, then, realising Caleb couldn't see it, said, "It wasn't your fault."

Caleb gave Eric a wry half-smile, "I'm still sorry for it though."

Eric squeezed the blind Reader's hand and reached out, brushing a tendril of hair from out of Caleb's sightless eyes. Caleb smiled, laid a gentle kiss to the pulse point on Eric's wrist and, not letting go of the Cuban-Russian CSI's hand, let his eyes drift closed, a soft snore letting Eric know he was ok.

Still gripping each other's hand, the two trace analysts watched in amusement as Eric got more and more flustered, his face turning an ever-increasing shade of red. Ryan turned back to face Speed, causing the scruffy-haired CSI to wince as he saw the cuts on Ryan's temples.

Ryan snuffed a laugh, "I look that good, huh?"

Speed gave the Reader a watery smile and gently squeezed his hand, running his thumb back and forth over Ryan's knuckles, "You know, if you didn't want to come to my place, you could've just said so."


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb Wolfe. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

Standing in his lab, Speed had come to a conclusion. Eric was nervous and fidgety. And that made Caleb nervous and fidgety and also slightly worried because he only knew partly why Eric was nervous and fidgety. And that made Ryan nervous and fidgety and also slightly confused and cranky because Caleb wouldn't tell him what was going on. And that made Speed confused and slightly irritable because Ryan was upset and it was somehow Eric's fault but he didn't know how or why. All this was going through the scruffy-haired trace analyst's head and it was giving him a headache.

After reading the same paragraph on his report for the fifth time, Speed shoved it aside with a growl and went to find Eric, determined to find out what was troubling his friend. If he found out what was troubling El Cubano Loco, then maybe he could fix it, and if he could fix it then Eric wouldn't be projecting to Caleb, and if Eric wasn't projecting to Caleb then Caleb wouldn't project to Ryan. Maybe then he could take some aspirin and Ryan would stop being so snappy. Speed shook his head and rubbed his temples, now even his thoughts were rambling.

Speed walked through the lab, trying not to think too hard, ducking his head into all the labs and the breakroom and not finding Eric in any of them. He frowned slightly, then headed for the locker room, the only place left on his search. He ducked his head into the locker room, spying the normally Mr. Cool Cuban pacing up and down the locker room, a worried frown on his face and his eyes staring off into nowhere. Speed watched his friend for a few moments, his head tilted to the side as he tried to work out just what was going through Eric's head.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor with all that pacing, Delko," Speed calmly told the pacing Hispanic.

Eric started, spinning around and catching sight of Speed. He shot the trace analyst a glare, then resumed his pacing. Speed watched him for a few more laps of the locker room. He sighed and grabbed the pacing Cuban by the arm, sitting him down on the bench.

"Eric, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Eric snapped, trying to stand up.

Speed shook his head, "Delko, 'nothing' does not make you do laps of the locker room. 'Nothing' does not give you a face like a thundercloud. 'Nothing' does not make you so nervous and fidgety that it affects both Caleb and Ryan, thereby affecting me."

Eric buried his face in his hands, "I'm taking Caleb to meet my parents tomorrow."

"And this is bad?" Speed said with a frown.

"You bet your ass it's bad," Eric told him emphatically.

"Because he's a guy?"

Eric shook his head.

"Because he's blind?"

Eric shook his head again.

"Because he's a reader?"

Eric looked at his friend, "My mother is Cuban, my father is Russian, they grew up with all the supernatural stories. They know about readers. But they're pretty wary of them. There was a reader on the boat from Cuba, a scryer, he could see snippets of the future, apparently he kept trying to tell my pregnant mother random facts about the person I was going to be."

"Ah. That could make things difficult."

"Exactly. The fact that Cay is blind probably won't help matters either."

A confused frown crossed Speed's face, "Why?"

"Because being blind is a trait common to scryers," a new voice from the doorway said, "The theory is that the scryer misses out on ordinary sight so he or she gets future-sight to make up for it."

The two men sitting on the bench started slightly, then swung around to look at the newcomer. Ryan. The reader moved into the locker room and sat down next to Speed, resting his chin lightly on the other man's shoulder. He watched Delko and Speed from his spot on Speed's shoulder. Delko was anxious, Cay was anxious, Speed was irritable and had a headache. Speed was easy, he, Ryan, had been a bastard to him all day. As for Cay and Delko, well, the whole 'meet the parents' thing was enough to make anyone anxious. The fact that Delko's parents were a bit suspicious of readers… no wonder Eric was nervous.

"M'sorry I was a bastard," he murmured into Speed's ear, causing the scruffy-haired man to shiver slightly.

"S'okay," Speed whispered back, ignoring Delko's smirk.

Raising his eyebrow at the smirking Cuban, Ryan lifted his head off Speed's shoulder and shifted into a more comfortable position, before taking a calming breath and letting his eyes go vacant. Speed and Eric gave each other a knowing look, recognising the signs that showed when Ryan was talking to his twin.

'Cay?'

'Ry? What's up?'

'You're projecting everywhere, it's giving me and Speed a headache.'

'Sorry, but it's Eric, he's upset about something and he's shut me out. I know we're supposed to go to his parent's house for dinner tomorrow, at first I thought he was just nervous about that, but it's been getting worse. I'm worried about him.'

'Hang on a second, Cay…'

Turning to Eric, his eyes still looking at nothing, Ryan asked, "Can I tell him what you told Speed? He's worried about you."

At Eric's nod and slightly shamefaced blush, Ryan went back to the conversation with his twin.

'I walked into the locker room today and heard him talking to Speed. He was talking about how you were going to have dinner at his parent's place tomorrow.'

'This isn't new information, Ryan.'

'I'm getting there. He also said that his parents didn't give a brass wazoo that you were a guy and in ordinary circumstances they wouldn't give a brass wazoo that you were blind.'

'But I'm a reader…'

'Exactly. Apparently Delko's mother was pregnant with him when her and his dad made the crossing from Cuba.'

'And this affects me how…?'

'There was a scryer on the boat with them. Apparently this guy was a real whackjob, kept yelling random predictions at Delko's mom about her unborn kid.'

'Oh no.'

'Yeah.'

'And I'm blind…'

'Yeah.'

'I'm screwed.'

'No, Cay, you're not. Delko says his parents aren't reader haters, they're just a bit wary of them. Especially scryers. Once you explain that you aren't a scryer and they see how well you and Eric fit together, you'll be fine.'

'You think so?'

'Yeah. Try and get a couple of his sisters on your side first, maybe Marisol, he seems to be closest to her, that's probably your best bet.'

'Thanks Ry.'

'It's what I'm here for.'

Coming back to himself, Ryan found Eric and Speed looking at him expectantly. He shook off the slight disorientation and gave them a grin.

"He gets it now," Ryan said, "I told him he should be fine once he explains that he isn't a scryer. But you should really tell your parents beforehand that he's a reader, not a scryer. Cay doesn't like loud arguments, they throw his equilibrium off."

With those words effectively ending the conversation, Ryan picked himself up off the locker room bench and walked out. Speed and Eric looked at each other and shook their heads. The scruffy-headed CSI and the Cuban-Russian CSI got up and followed him, Eric turning off into the layout room, Speed carrying on into the trace lab.

Eric was silent in the car on the way to his parent's house. Even though Caleb couldn't see the nervous glances Eric kept darting his way, he could feel the apprehension rolling off him. As the car pulled up outside Eric's parent's house, Caleb reached over and gave Eric's arm a reassuring squeeze. Eric took a deep breath and took Caleb's arm, as much for his own reassurance as to help the blind man.

Eric's face broke into a smile as his sister, Marisol, opened the door and let them in. She grinned and gave her brother a hug, before turning to Caleb her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline. The trio moved into the living room, Eric talking softly to Caleb, explaining where all his mother's knick-knacks were. Her eyes flickered from Caleb to Eric and then back again, before Caleb frowned.

"I most certainly am not," he calmly told Marisol, who jumped and stared at him in shock.

"Eric?" she said uncertainly.

"He's a reader, Mari, not a scryer. I told momma and dad on the phone. You're not gonna freak or anything are you?"

"No," she told her brother with a grin, "I'm just wondering how you managed to keep such a good-looking guy."

Caleb's face broke into a smile, "I bribe him with chocolate, pizza and my brother's big screen TV," he told Marisol, causing her to laugh, "I'm Caleb Wolfe, by the way."

"Where is the man who has stolen my son's heart?" a new voice called from off to Caleb's right, startling him, causing his eyes to widen and the blind man to jump slightly.

"Momma, this is Caleb Wolfe. Cay, this is my mother, Maria Delko and to your left of her is my father Pavel Delko," Eric said, gently squeezing Caleb's arm.

"Nice to meet you," Caleb said with a smile, holding his hand out towards the voice, wishing he had the use of Ryan's eyes.

Sitting down at the dinner table, the conversation flowed smoothly, the food was brilliant, Eric was happy to be with his family, but Caleb kept fidgeting. His face remained polite, he smiled and laughed along with the rest of the table, but underneath, his feet shifted around, his legs jiggled and Eric could feel the tension in his shoulders every time Caleb bumped him accidentally. About to ask him what was wrong, even Eric was surprised when Caleb suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I can't take this," the blind reader said suddenly.

"Cay?" Eric said, surprised.

Turning to the seats Eric's parents occupied, Caleb spoke quickly and earnestly.

"With respect, Mr and Mrs Delko, I know what happened to the both of you on the journey over from Cuba. I know that a scryer scared the absolute crap out of you and I understand that completely. I probably would have been scared, and I'm a reader myself. But you have to understand… I'm not that man. I wasn't even born when you were on that boat. I'm not even a scryer. My blindness is caused by a genetic defect, not by my abilities as a reader. As a blind guy, and a reader to boot… I realise I'm probably not much of a catch and I realise I'm probably not who you had in mind when Eric said he was bringing someone home to meet the family. But… and this is gonna sound like something straight out of a bad romantic comedy… I'm not just 'the blind reader'. I'm the guy who fell in love with your son. Unfortunately, I just happen to be a blind reader," Caleb shrugged and fell silent, his face turning crimson as he realised he'd just scolded Eric's parents.

Marisol hid a smile under her hand, "He's right, you know, the first thing he said to me was 'I most certainly am not', right after I had been wondering if he was going to go poking through my mind and announcing all my secrets and my future at the dinner table."

Maria Delko turned to her husband and raised an eyebrow. Pavel returned it with a shrug, then turned to the still-embarrassed Caleb. He leaned over and clasped the blind man's shoulder firmly.

"Welcome to the family, Caleb," he said, causing both Caleb and Eric to sag in relief and broad grins to spread across their faces.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb Wolfe. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

"How'd it go?" Ryan asked his brother as Caleb made his way into the kitchen the next morning.

"His momma thinks I'm too skinny and his sisters think I'm cute," Caleb muttered back, helping himself to a cup of coffee and the toast off Ryan's plate.

Ryan cracked up laughing, "There you go, Cay! You're an honorary Delko now. And get your own damn toast."

"Shut it, you. Hey, aren't you working today?"

"Nope. Today is my day off. Hallelujah."

"You're going to Speed's tonight, right?" Caleb asked, his hand darting out to snag the PopTart Ryan had made to replace the toast Caleb had previously stolen.

"Yeah, at 6. God Cay! Get your own food! Does that mean that Eric's coming here?" Ryan replied, turning just in time to see the last corner of PopTart disappear into Caleb's mouth.

"Mmhmm," the blind man replied around a mouthful of stolen PopTart.

Ryan shook his head at his twin, before walking out into the yard to check the mail. He scooped up the handful of letters, his eyes resting on a parcel stuffed inelegantly into the mailbox. Carefully, as though it were evidence, Ryan pulled the parcel out of the mailbox and glanced at the name. Caleb Wolfe. He flipped it over and looked at the sender. Moonlight Books for the Vision Impaired. With a shrug, Ryan took the parcel and the rest of the mail back into the house, dumping the parcel in front of his brother, before sitting down to sort through the handful of letters.

Eric sat on the couch in Ryan and Caleb's house watching a football game. Caleb sat curled into his chest, the Braille copy of The Last of the Mohicans he had gotten in the mail that morning open on his lap. As Caleb traced the words in his book with one hand, he absently ran his hand over the lines on Eric's palm, then across his wrist and up his arm. Eric shivered slightly as Caleb ran his fingers across the back of his neck and down over his collarbone. He smiled bemusedly as Caleb's questing fingers moved up his neck, pausing at the pulse point, across his jaw line, over his lips and then followed the same path back down until they reached his palm again. Caleb smirked to himself as he felt Eric shiver. He carried on pretending to read, running his hand on a constant path from Eric's palm to his lips and back again. Caleb was getting bored with pretending to read. He couldn't concentrate with the football game on and 6'0 of gorgeous Cuban sitting next to him.

Speed and Ryan sat together on the couch in Speed's living room watching, at Ryan's insistence, Empire Records. Speed was stretched out on the couch, reminding Ryan of a big cat. Ryan sat curled between his knees, his head resting on Speed's arm. Ryan shifted slightly, then stood up as the movie ended, moving into the kitchen, not bothering to ask Speed if he wanted more chocolate. That was a stupid question. Speed, who was absently channel surfing, watched Ryan as he moved through the house, the older man grinning as a slightly evil idea popped into his head. He wiggled quickly out of his shirt, shoving it under the couch cushion, then returned to channel surfing as though nothing had changed.

Eric smiled down at Caleb, before pulling the book out of his hands and kissing him gently. His smile turned into a wide-eyed gasp as Caleb slid cool fingers under the hem of his shirt, causing the blind man to snicker wickedly. In revenge, Eric pulled the reader up and kissed him soundly, holding on until he finally realised that oxygen was a necessity. He pulled back and looked at Caleb, whose face was flushed and eyes were closed. A huge grin spread across the blind man's face as he slowly opened his eyes. And let out an ear-piercing scream.

Ryan came back out of the kitchen carrying two bags of chocolate. Stepping into the lounge room he opened his mouth to ask Speed which chocolate he wanted to open, before catching sight of the now-shirtless CSI. Everything he was about to ask went out of his head. Speed smirked evilly at him, before schooling his features into an innocent look.

"What?"

Ryan blinked a couple of times, then grinned, moving back to the couch and plopping himself back down on it. He studiously ignored Speed for all of a minute before Speed growled and spun him around to kiss him. Ryan smirked into the kiss for a second before all thought flew out of his head. Pulling back, Ryan gave Speed a happy smile.

'I don't know why he loves me, but I'm sure as hell glad he does,' Ryan thought to himself, snuggling down into Speed's chest.

'I love you because you're you,' came Speed's answering thought, causing Ryan to jump backwards, falling off the couch.

Eric yelped in shock as Caleb threw himself off the couch, tripping over his own feet and ending up in a heap on the floor. He stared at Eric with wide, sightless eyes, breathing heavily, from his spot on the floor. He picked himself up and moved slowly towards the shell-shocked Cuban. He stopped about three feet away from Eric, his head tilted to the side, his eyes boring into Eric's. Caleb blinked a couple of times, then placed one hand over his eyes. Eric watched in shock as his lover went seemingly mad. Caleb uncovered his eyes, a look of pure surprise on his face, before moving forward and placing the same hand over Eric's eyes. The blind man let out a gasp and yanked his hand back, before a beautiful smile spread across his face.

"Eric… your eyes… I can… oh wow…" was all Caleb managed to get out, tears in his eyes, the same beautiful smile still on his face.

"Caleb? What is it? What about my eyes?" Eric said, standing up and gathering the smaller man into his arms.

"I can see through them," Caleb replied, still not losing his smile.

Ryan stood, his defences kicking in, keeping the coffee table between himself and Speed. His eyes were wide and stunned. Speed watched him in shock, not entirely sure what had just happened, they'd just been talking, hadn't they? Ryan blinked, Speed had no idea… Taking a deep breath, Ryan tilted his head to the side and met Speed's concerned eyes.

'Speed?' he sent out, questioningly.

'God, Ryan, what's wrong? You scared the crap outta me!' the answering thought came back.

Ryan's jaw dropped. This had never happened before. Never. Ever. The only person he could talk to like this was Caleb. And Speed still had no idea what he was doing. Ryan moved out from behind the coffee table and sat back down on the couch next to Speed. Lifting his hands up, Ryan covered his mouth with one and Speed's mouth with the other. Speed blinked, trying to decide whether Ryan had finally lost it or not.

'I'm fine now, Speed. You scared me though. Do you have any idea what you just did?' Ryan sent, his hand still clamped over his mouth.

'What I did! You were the one who went leaping off the couch like the hounds of hell were after you! You're the one who's sitting there talking to me with his hand over his mouth! With his hand over…? But you're covering my mouth too…' came Speed's first angry, then confused, then slightly scared thought.

Ryan took his hands away from both their mouths. He stared at Speed in shock. Speed stared back at him, an identical stunned expression on his face. Ryan blinked a couple of times, before a beautiful smile found its way onto his face.

"We just linked," Ryan said in awe.

Eric looked at Caleb in astonishment. Caleb could see through his eyes? But that only happened with Ryan… didn't it? Because Caleb and Ryan were twins. Speed stared at Ryan in disbelief. They'd just linked? Like Ryan did with Caleb? But that was impossible… wasn't it? Because Ryan and Caleb were twins.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb Wolfe. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

The twins sat on two different couches, in two different houses, staring in shock at two different men. Ryan, in Speed's house, sat staring at Speed, the man who, although not a reader, had somehow managed to link with him. He'd talked with him inside his head… nobody but Caleb had ever been able to do that. Meanwhile Caleb, in the twins' house, sat on the couch, his normally sightless eyes staring at Eric but not seeing him. Caleb, to his complete shock, was seeing his own stunned face; he was seeing what Eric saw… nobody but Ryan had ever been able to do that.

Ryan stared at Speed, "I need to talk to Caleb."

Caleb stared at Eric, "I need to talk to Ryan."

Almost as one, the twins' eyes went vacant and they started to speak to each other.

'Ryan?'

'Caleb?'

'What the hell is going on!' they sent together.

'You first,' Ryan sent to Caleb.

'Eric… he was… we were…' here Ryan felt a wave of embarrassment and love from his twin.

'Right-o, Cay, I get it… what happened? Why are we talking?'

'I had my eyes closed when we… you know… then when I opened them, I could see my face.'

'What! Your face? You could see your face? As in, you could see what Eric was seeing?'

'Yeah, Ryan. Scared the absolute crap outta me.'

'Well, damn.'

'Pretty much. So, what's your problem?'

'Speed and I were… umm…' now it was Caleb's turn to feel a wave of embarrassment and love through the link.

'Ditto, Ry, I get it. What happened?'

'Laugh at me and I will hide your cane and rearrange the furniture… When we were just sitting there, I thought to myself 'I don't know why he loves me, but I'm sure as hell glad he does'… And, ah hell, Cay, he answered me! Without speaking!'

'One, hiding a blind man's cane and rearranging his furniture is very mean and nasty. Two, you are such a sap. And three, that's weird. Speed can link with you?'

'Yeah. What's going on? I mean, this has never happened before… why now? Why them?'

'I don't know, Ryan, I just don't know.'

Ryan and Caleb severed the link and came back to themselves, looking into the expectant faces of the men waiting for them. Caleb tilted his head in Eric's direction and spread his hands in confusion. Ryan looked at Speed and shrugged helplessly.

"Ryan doesn't know, either."

"Caleb doesn't know, either."

Later that week, the entire team sat in the breakroom, eating lunch and drinking coffee. All of them were bored. A slow day at the lab had meant they had absolutely nothing to do. Pulling himself to his feet, Speed walked out of the room, the others watching him head over to the vending machine and pull out a candy bar. Not even two steps away from the vending machine, Speed stopped, tilting his head to the side. With a long-suffering sigh, he pivoted on his heel, turned back to the vending machine and pulled out another candy bar. The team, (bar Eric, who just grinned) looked stunned, staring from Speed to Ryan, who hadn't lifted his head from the book he was reading.

Speed sauntered back into the breakroom, lobbing the candy bar at the back of Ryan's head and grinning when the younger CSI let out a startled noise as it hit him in the back of the head. Ryan turned and gave him a mock glare that quickly shifted into a frown as both Speed and Ryan swung round to stare at Eric. Horatio, Calleigh and Alexx watched, completely stunned, as the silent exchange continued. Speed glanced over at Ryan, his eyes narrowing slightly. Ryan flinched.

"Don't yell, Speed," he murmured, causing a gasp out of Calleigh and Alexx and a raised eyebrow out of Horatio.

Speed looked sheepish, "Sorry."

'Is this better?' he continued inside Ryan's head.

'Much,' the Reader answered with a smile inexplicable to those around him.

'Why'd you cut me off? Does Caleb want something?' Speed asked curiously, knowing that his brother would be the only reason Ryan would cut him off so abruptly.

'Yeah, he said he wants to show Eric something. But he doesn't want to show me. So, all things considered…'

'You don't wanna know,' Speed finished with a smirk.

'Exactly.'

'I'll let you talk to him, then.'

'Thanks. And don't throw chocolate bars at my head.'

Ryan's head tilted to the side, his eyes vacant, as they always were when he spoke to Caleb. He frowned slightly, then the corners of his mouth curled up in a decidedly evil smirk. He blinked, then turned to Eric, the smirk turning into a full blown grin.

"It's for you," Ryan said, dryly, the evil smirk still creasing his face.

Eric rolled his eyes and concentrated, his eyes slowly going vacant, just like Ryan's had previously. The rest of the team's jaws dropped. Eric's head tilted slightly and he frowned. Then his eyes widened and he gasped, choking on the sharp intake of air. Blushing furiously, the Cuban-Russian CSI coughed and spluttered, trying to draw air into his lungs. As Ryan snickered helplessly, Eric fixed him with a glare.

"Your brother is evil," he managed to choke out.

Ryan smirked, "Well, yeah."

Horatio, Calleigh and Alexx stared at the three men. Across the table, Ryan, Eric and Speed stared innocently back, all fighting back smiles. Calleigh was the first to break.

"What in the world was that all about?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** Brothers  
**Author:** Hawkeye/Katy  
**Fandom:** CSI: Miami  
**Rating:** FRT  
**Disclaimer:** I own Caleb Wolfe. I don't own CSI: Miami. Hear that? Me no own. You no sue.

"_What in the world was that all about?"_

The three men shared innocent looks, before turning their dubious innocence on the rest of the team. Three sets of brown eyes stared innocently across the table. The rest of the team stared back, not believing them for a second. Speed and Eric looked at Ryan, hoping the Reader would explain, after all, he knew the situation far better than they did. Ryan fidgeted slightly, before taking a step back, his eyes going vacant as his brother spoke to him.

'Ry?'

'Yeah?'

'Is this shirt blue?'

'Is what!'

'The shirt… Eric's taking me out tonight, I want to wear my blue linen shirt. Is this one the blue one?'

'You pulled me out of work to see if your shirt was blue?'

'Mm-hmm.'

The team looked at Ryan in shock as he laughed hysterically, his eyes still vacant. Leaning against the wall, the Reader giggled helplessly. Ryan laughed and laughed, til tears ran down his face and he could hardly breathe.

'You finished, Ry?'

'Yeah… I'm good.'

'So… is it blue?'

'Yes, Caleb, that's the blue one. May I make a suggestion?'

'Of course.'

'Borrow my dark jeans.'

'Oooh, nice… Thanks, Ry.'

'No probs, they're in the clean laundry pile, about halfway down.'

'Thanks. Bye.'

'Bye.'

Still snickering, Ryan came back to himself, shaking his head to clear the disorientation. The team was still looking at him like he'd grown a second head. He gave them a serene smile and sat back down in his chair, turning to Calleigh.

"You were saying…?"

The Southern Belle gave him an odd look before speaking, "What happened before, with you and Speed, and Eric and Caleb?"

Ryan turned first to Eric, giving him a questioning look. At Eric's nod, he turned to Speed, shooting the other Trace Analyst a soft smile. Speed smiled back and nodded too. Speed and Eric looked at each other, then took seats on either side of Ryan. The three men looked across the table at the rest of their team, before Ryan spoke.

"Well… It would seem that…" here the Reader blushed slightly, "Uh… Eric and Speed, due to their… um… closeness… with Caleb and I, have developed certain Reader-like abilities."

The team stared at the three in shock. On Ryan's left, Speed was snickering gently at Ryan, on his right, Eric was blushing crimson. Alexx's instincts as a doctor kicked in, making her the first to speak, shooting questions at all three men.

"When did this happen? What exactly can the two of you do? Does that make them Readers now, Ryan? Is there any chance this could damage them in any way? Could another Reader hurt them, like they did you and Caleb?"

Eric stepped up to answer the first question, "It happened a week ago, I was at Caleb's house, and Ryan was at Speed's. From what the four of us can gather, it happened almost simultaneously. I mean, Cay and Ryan had a conversation almost straight after it happened, and it had happened to both of us, so…" he shrugged.

Speed took over, "Ryan and I, like you saw before, can talk to each other inside our heads and I can, unless he shuts me out, feel his emotions, like he and Caleb can. What's the word for it, Ry?"

"Linking," Ryan supplied helpfully, staring intently at the table.

"Right, linking," Speed continued, "I can only link with Ryan; we've tried it with both Caleb and Delko, no luck. Delko, on the other hand, can't exactly link with Caleb, you saw before how Ryan had to talk to Caleb and tell Eric that Caleb wanted to see him… but… Eric can give Caleb the use of his eyes, like Ryan can. Once again, we tried that with me, no luck."

Ryan shot the ME a crooked smile before he answered her remaining questions, "No, this doesn't make them Readers. Readers are born, not made. I… I don't actually know what this makes them. Personally, I would keep this between us. If people call us on it, tell them it's because we're in a relationship or something, but… Cay and I, we've had hell from the Registry… I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, let alone on these two."

Ryan rubbed absently at a spot on his shoulder, just above his heart, before continuing, "This won't damage them, Alexx, any more than it damaged me or Cay or any other Reader. Speed and Eric will just have to get used to what they can do, and considering it only happened because of their closeness to me and Cay… it's not like they'll be dealing with it alone. As for another Reader hurting them…" Ryan shrugged helplessly, "I honestly don't know, the only way to find out is to see if we… Caleb and I… can hurt them… and that is something that neither of us are willing to do."

"Understandable," Horatio nodded.

Ryan shot him a grateful smile, before looking down at the table again, catching sight of his watch. His eyes widened. Was it that time already? His eyes flew up to the clock on the breakroom wall. Yep, it was. He grinned, turning to Eric.

"You're going to be late, Delko," he said in a sing-song voice, knowing it wasn't true, if Eric hurried he'd be fine, but teasing him anyway.

Eric's head snapped up to look at the clock, "Oh, damn!"

Throwing a hurried goodbye over his shoulder, Eric rushed out of the lab, much to the amusement of Ryan and Speed, who both snickered softly. Speed laid his head on Ryan's shoulder, blushing slightly at Alexx's knowing smile. The rest of the team followed the Cuban with their eyes, looking bemused. As one, they turned back to Ryan for an explanation.

"He's taking Caleb out tonight."

The team broke into knowing smiles; they understood Delko's feelings for the blind Reader. Speed looked at his own watch before standing up, taking Ryan's arm and pulling him to his feet too. Ryan gave him a questioning look. Speed answered with a wicked smirk as he gently tugged Ryan out of the breakroom, waving goodbye over his shoulder.

"What? You didn't think I'd forgotten your birthday did you?"

Ryan blushed, "Well…"

Speed raised an eyebrow, "How rude. For that, I might consider cancelling tonight's reservations at Antonio's."

Ryan blinked, "You got reservations at Antonio's? Wait… you managed to hide the fact that you got reservations at Antonio's?"

Speed gave Ryan his trademark half-smirk, "I'm just that good."

Ryan shook his head, following the other man out the door. He really was that good. And Delko was good for Caleb. Ryan's head tilted slightly as he thought about that. A soft smile spread across his face. Him and Caleb were okay. They were more than okay; they were together, they had friends and they had something more than friends. The Wolfe twins didn't have to run anymore.

The End


End file.
